


My Haunted First Date

by Geneviev



Category: Percy Jackson and the Olympians & Related Fandoms - All Media Types
Genre: Alive Bianca di Angelo, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Aphrodite is a good parent, Charmspeak (Percy Jackson), Different Godly Parent, Fake Blood, First Dates, Fluff, Genderfluid Character, Halloween, Haunted Houses, I Blame Tumblr, M/M, Mentions of Crossdressing, Mentions of Death, Mentions of Forced Suicide, Mentions of Violence, Mild Gore, Nico Doesn't Know Romance, Nico is a Dork, Not Beta Read, Percy Is Aphrodite's Son, Sally Jackson is a Good Parent, morally grey percy jackson
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-07
Updated: 2020-10-07
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:22:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,585
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26873620
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Geneviev/pseuds/Geneviev
Summary: Percy is the son of Aphrodite instead of Poseidon's, so everything changes, yet everything stays the same.Being a child of Aphrodite tends to make one's expectation for romance higher than most.So, the question is: is visiting a haunted house can be considered as a romantic first date?If you ask Percy...The answer is no.But honestly, what can you expect from the son of somebody who kidnapped his wife?
Relationships: Nico di Angelo/Percy Jackson, past Aphrodite/Sally Jackson
Comments: 9
Kudos: 108





	My Haunted First Date

“It will be funny, he said. It would be great, he said. It would be a child's play after what we saw and lived through, he said. No, it's not funny, no, it's not great, and NO, it is NOT a child's play!! Hear that, asshole?!?! This house is. Not. Funny!” shouted Percy after being scared shitless by another zombie for what felt like the hundredth times in an hour.

He was brave. Even if he was not the camp's hero (that’s Thalia, the daughter of Zeus), nor the child of one of the Big Three (like Thalia, Hazel, Bianca, Jason, and Nico), he was the best swordsman in the camp. He was unbeaten in krav maga. He was an experienced demigod with many kills under his buckle. But those were nothing compared to this awful haunted house, because you. Can't. Kill. The. Actors!

They scare you, they chase you with a chainsaw, they try to drag you underground, they want to kill you and you can do nothing! You can't touch them, you can't raise your sword at them, you can't fight with them, and you can't even beat the shit out of the friend with whom you came because it was supposed to be a date!

Or was it really? Because Percy hasn't seen Nico since they arrived at the haunted house.

\---

_“Hey, Perce, do you have a minute?” asks a nervous-looking Nico. Percy is tending Blackjack, but it was mostly just to take a break away from all the camp stuff he is forced to participate as a camp counselor._

_After Silena died, he and Drew were the most likely candidates for the role, Drew because she was the HBIC, and Percy because he was both the strongest fighter of the cabin and the sweetest of them all. Chiron wanted Drew to become the counselor, and for a while she was, but then the Aphrodite cabin staged a coup and made Percy their counselor – against his will. Piper, another daughter of Aphrodite, who arrived at camp with Jason and Leo when Thalia was abducted, challenged him, and he was ready to give up his role, but the others didn’t want him to do that. They wanted him as their counselor because they always trusted him and because of him, the whole cabin’s reputation became so much better than it was before. They still are considered airheads and lazy bitches, but nobody would cross Percy by saying those things out loud in front of him. He would beat the shit out of everybody who would say a bad word about his siblings or his mother._

_So, he is still the counselor of the Aphrodite cabin, but he made Piper his deputy, to be able to be more free. He had too much weight on his shoulders since he came to camp that he wanted to enjoy his free time. Still, he always has time for Nico._

_They first met when Percy, Annabeth, and Grover were sent to gather two demigod children from a school dance. It turned out they were siblings, very different from each other, but still attached to each other. The boy, Nico, was an excited little thing, like a smol puppy, as Silena declared when she saw him following Percy everywhere. The girl, Bianca was more level-headed, or at least Percy thought so until he heard she wanted to leave his brother to become a huntress. Seeing Nico’s distress, Percy convinced her to think about her decision, to see camp first, to speak to others and not just the man-hating crowd. (And maybe it also had something to do with the mutual contempt Aphrodite’s cabin and Artemis’ huntress have against each other.)_

_She wanted to be a huntress, live eternally with sisters, instead of a brother, but Percy was very convincing. Well, that, and the fact that Artemis and Annabeth were gone before she could be made into a huntress, so everybody had to go to Camp. She then met with Silena, who became like a mother to her, so she chose to stay with them. Nico couldn’t be happier at this news, but he was pretty distressed that they had to stay in the Hermes cabin, instead of sleeping next to Percy. (Though, that didn’t stop him trying to sneak into the Aphrodite cabin.)_

_They become friends or a little brother-big brother type of thing. They lived through many hardships together, like the quest in the Labyrinth, or the Battle of New York, or the war against Gaea and the giants, or falling into Tartarus together, but their relationship became stronger after every adversary. However, Percy never would have thought, it was that strong that Nico would want to ask him out on a date. Because that’s what he does, in his clumsy way._

_“You want to take me to a haunted house?” asks back Percy incredulously. The image of them on a date wasn’t that strange, in fact, it was something Percy wanted for a long time (since Tartarus where they bonded over their respective powers which can be used not only to protect people but also to destroy them) but was not sure about Nico’s feelings before. Even he, the son of Aphrodite can't be sure how others feel about him._

_No, it is the haunted house that seems a bit odd for a first date. But, well… he IS the son of Hades, the King of Underworld, so maybe it was the height of romance for him?_

Mother will scream when she hears where I went for my first date and will insist to take us to Paris for a real romantic date, _Percy thought, laughing at the image of the Love Goddess’s face._

_“I mean… if you don’t want to… I just… I thought it would be funny to check out one. We saw so many monsters, I’m sure nothing would scare us, but we can go anywhere else! Or… just. Stay here?” Nico stammers but the son of Aphrodite smiles gently and takes his hand._

_“I’d love to go to a haunted house with you. I’m sure it will be fun.”_

_Famous last words._

\---

He feels something moving behind him and hears someone ragging a chain. His instincts scream at him to uncap his pen or turn around and kick whoever is lurking behind him, but his brain tries to be logical and explains to him that it would be not a good idea to attack an unsuspecting human. Even if that human is doing a really great job to scare him to death. He knows that nobody can hurt him here, everything is mechanical or a real person who is acting, but fighting against monsters in his whole life is so integrated into his nature that some reflexes are hard to shake off. 

So, maybe this date wasn’t the best idea.

Especially if it’s not really a date, just a friendly hang out. Because you have to spend some time with your partner for it to be a date, right?! 

When he gets home, he is sooo going to call both of his mothers and complain about his first date. He should have known not to trust a son of Hades with organizing a date. Okay, Percy has no experience with dating either, BUT! He is the son of two amazing, caring and loving mothers. One of them is the Goddess of Love and Beauty, so it is in her job description to be romantic, and the other has the most amazing husband Aphrodite could ever find for her ex-lover, so - relationship goals right there. (Yeah, Percy could acknowledge his parents and his life are strange.)

He grew up on love stories! His favorite was his mothers’ love story – and there were a lot of romantic dates woven into that tale! He spent five years (first just summers, but after becoming the official counselor of his cabin, he stayed for the whole year) with his siblings, hearing about their exploits, their bits of advice, and suggestions. And, of course, there was his strongest power (after his charmspeak and his adorable baby seal eyes): his love intuition. His knowledge of love and romance is inborn, he can use it positive and negative way, he used it many times to bring together couples, but he used it in fights also, where he broke the bonds of his enemies.

So, yeah, even if he has not experienced a relationship himself, but he knows romance.

This?

This is not romance. 

“NICO?!” shouts Percy in anger. Anger is better than fear or aggression.

The chain rattling stops. An eerie silence echoes in the dark corridor.

“Percy?” he hears a faint sound that might be a shout from the distance. “Where are you?” Nico’s question comes from downstairs, they are not even on the same floor.

The scraping of chains comes back, but much closer than before, accompanied by an ominous hissing sound. Percy doesn’t turn around, just runs where he suspects the stairs to be. He almost falls over something, and when he looks down, a glassy-eyed corpse looks back at him. There is blood dripping from the body’s slit throat, down to the stairs where it mixes with the blood of other corpses. They are laying all over the stairs. Some of them are in good condition, while others are decaying. Percy is gagging because of the smell and the visual but runs down. The dead bodies try to slow him down, but he has more than enough of this house.

He may be a great swordsman, a powerful demigod, the killer of monsters, titans, and giants, but he is still the son of his mother. Rotting corpses? Disgusting odor? Crumbling walls? No, thank you.

He could charmspeak his way out of here, but he won’t use his abilities on mortals, who can’t fight against him. He only used him once against a mortal (well, intentionally once, because when he was young he used it unknowingly), and it was self-defense.

He only used it on Gabe, the Asshole, as Percy and his mothers call that bastard. He was Sally’s first attempt to have a real relationship after being the lover of the literal Love Goddess – or, well, some times she was the lover of the Love God. Gabriel was charming and funny and while he was strange sometimes, there were no problems until one night Gabe saw Aphrodite dressing up Percy into some nice skirt and a blouse with a bow on the neckline. He made some really rude, sexist, and homophobic things, he wanted to tear the dresses down from Percy while beating his face, so the young boy made him stop.

And made him walk out of the house – using the window.

Aphrodite was so proud of him, she took him and Sally out for gelato in Venice.

That was the last time he used his charmspeak on a mortal.

He hears a noise from the door next to the staircase. “Nico?” he asks, his voice coming out a bit shakier than he hoped it would.

“Yes, it’s me,” the other boy said and opened the door. He frowned when he saw the corpses, but then he turned his attention to Percy. “I’m sorry for losing you. Somebody grabbed me and yanked me somewhere and you know we can't hit the actors, so I couldn't escape. When I realized that you were not there, I tried to search for you, but I couldn't find you.”

The son of Aphrodite narrowed his eyes at Nico, but the pale boy seemed to be truthful, so he smiled, and nodded.

“Okay, I don’t blame you. But maybe we should hold hands to be able to stay together,” offers Percy his hand accompanied with a wink. Nico shyly returns the gesture, and their hands touch for the first time that night.

Unfortunately, a haunted house is not the best place for gentle, sweet gestures. As soon they stepped forward to leave the stairway, a scream split through the dead silent air. It was a scream of pain and fear and tortured terror and it came from the previously dead bodies. Then another scream comes, then another and another, and another until the room is filled with wailing screams. Percy turns around and he can see the corpses moving, trying to surround them, blocking the way of the exit. Their faces are distorted with deep suffering, their screams are ear-shattering. 

The animated dead bodies – actors? – are closing around them. They are not touching the pair, but are dangerously close to them. Nico pulls Percy into his embrace and whispers into his ear.

“Should we scare them?” Percy shivers at the sensation, but it’s not the best situation to be aroused by the other boy’s smell, voice, and those arms wrapped around him.

“What do you mean?” asks back Percy, but he knows he will say yes anyway, so he nods before Nico could answer. The son of Hades' smile is full of trouble, and then Percy feels a thug in his belly. He shadow-traveled before, so it isn’t uncomfortable, only a bit sudden.

“What do you think, how freaked out are they?” asks the son of Hades when they are both seated on Nico’s bed. They are sitting close to each other, much closer than they usually do. 

“To see two people disappearing in front of them? I think they are currently agreeing that they won’t talk about us ever again.”

There is a lull in their conversation, but then Nico breaths in and says, “I’m truly sorry for how this night turned out. I thought it would be funny, but I didn’t anticipate that they would separate us.” Percy looks at him, contemplating, then his eyes start sparkling with playful mischief. 

“Kiss me, and I’ll forgive you,” he states firmly, looking him straight in the eyes of the son of Hades. For once, Nico’s face is full of confusion and surprise.

“What?”

“I said kiss me, and I’ll forgive you for taking me to a haunted house for our first date,” Percy repeated. “And I won’t tell my mothers that you left me all alone.”

“Oh,” Nico says quietly, his eyes widening. “Um…” He looks away, his cheeks reddening. Percy never saw him this shy before. Not even when he asked him out. “I guess, I could do that. If that’s really what you want.”

With a nod, Percy declares, “It is.”

Nico slides closer, and slowly, carefully he takes Percy’s face into his palms, tilting his head in a comfortable position to kiss Percy. The son of Aphrodite closes his eyes, completely losing himself in the feeling of soft lips meeting his. Everything felt incredible. He feels he could float away in happiness. The kiss is over too soon, but they are not moving away. Nico’s hands are still cupping Percy’s face, both of them are flushed, eyes wide with happiness, desire, and love.

The son of Hades smiles and moves even more closer to wrap his arms around Percy. They know they have to shower and freshen themselves after the dirty haunted house because both are covered in fake blood and spiderweb, but for a few minutes, they want to enjoy being so close to each other.

“Best. Night. Ever,” Nico sighs contently. Percy nods and burrows his head into Nico’s shoulder. They have things to do, people to talk to and problems to solve, but for now, they are content and happy. Everything else can wait.

**Author's Note:**

> I know it was not what you expected from this trope, but I was not interested in re-writing the PJO series. Still, you can find some mentions of how everything would have turned out if Percy wasn't born as Poseidon's son. What was your favorite bit? (Mine was the Gabe situation -oops!)  
> I'm always happy for feedback, either here, or come visit me on [Tumblr](https://justonemorechaptercoldflash.tumblr.com/)!


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